


Washing Away

by ink_stained_hands



Category: Gintama
Genre: Almost SIngle Dad Gintoki, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Gen, GinHiji - Freeform, Gintoki Lazy, Gintoki has to own up to his responsibilites, Hijikata has to deal with difficult students, Hijikata is short tempered and it gets him into trouble, Kabedons are a thing, M/M, Onesided!Takagin, Slice of Life, Teachers!AU, Unresolved Sexual Tension, handjobs, highschool!au, idiots who can't stay away from each other, ninja okikagu, past ginhiji, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:42:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ink_stained_hands/pseuds/ink_stained_hands
Summary: Sakata Gintoki and Hijikata Toushiro are not only teachers who teach in the same school but also neighbours who annoy each other occasionally. One thing leads to another and it becomes a game of push and pull  leading to revelations that none of them want to face.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46
Collections: Gintoki's Birthday Bash 2020





	Washing Away

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy to able to post this ^^ and participate in Gintoki's Birthday Bash. I always wanted to write something for him and this event has provided me a great opportunity to do so. I'm glad to have participated. 
> 
> I apologise for deviating from my prompt a little and making this more fluffy than I originally intended. It's just that past month was a huge struggle for me so I couldn't do that to my precious otp and it became a source of comfort instead. Thank you for your patience and for the mods for letting me do this event. I hope you can still enjoy this story!
> 
> Thank You Haru for the precious fanart based on this fic, I love is so so so much!
> 
> Pls check out her art on twitter here: [ Ginhiji ](https://twitter.com/SpicyHarubi/status/1313601320037879808?s=20/)

  
  
  


* * *

Hijikata stood in his balcony enjoying the windy weather- it had been sweltering a few hours ago and the cloudy weather along with the winds was a great relief.

He chewed on his cigarette absently holding his coffee mug when a familiar pair of voices grated his nerves. 

"Kagura-chan...Help me hold some of the groceries! I can't hold everything and balance an umbrella too!"

So his annoying neighbours were back.

Umbrella...Hijikata looked up and noticed the light drizzle. A frown appeared on his face. 

Rain.

"Then let me hold the umbrella Gin-chan!"

"Kagura-chan...you are too short for me! I will get drenched!"

"Ah...Gin-chan has grown smarter…I'm proud." the kid reached up to pat his shoulders sagely. "We must always enjoy the rain and for that we don't need the umbrella!" She giggled happily reaching for his umbrella. "Gin-chan is so unfair I want to hold the umbrella too!"

"Kagura-chan…" Gintoki grunted trying to push the groceries into her hand instead of the umbrella. "How can you let a lady hold such heavy things!"

"You insisted that you were a fighter when you drop-kicked Sofa-kun the other day!"

"Ladies can be fighters too!"

"Hitting people without an actual cause makes you a bully not a fighter." Kagura finally managed to extricate the umbrella from his grip, hitting his head in the process.

"Ow ow ow...you did that on purpose didn't you?...It hurts now." 

Kagura stuck her tongue out at him, "How do you know there was no actual cause? Dumb Gin-chan." 

Gintoki ducked down at an awkward angle trying to protect the groceries while staring at his wet sleeves mournfully. "What's dumb is you holding this umbrella. Look at my shirt! It's still getting wet...Hold it a little higher you brat!" 

Kagura threw away the umbrella and squealed happily with her arms spread wide. Gintoki stares forlornly at the umbrella flying away from them carried by the current of strong winds.

"Look Gin-chan...I got wet too! Now you can't complain about your shirt." She yelled to Gintoki a few feet away from her. 

Hijikata didn't expect Gintoki to shake his head with a dumb smile on his face. So this bastard did have other expressions besides his lazy disinterested one. Gintoki looked up at the sky and caught his eye. He waved at Hijikata with the same dumb smile plastered on his face. 

Hijikata scoffed but made no move to return the wave, his hand fiddling with the cigarette.

"Mayora-kun! It's rude not to acknowledge your neighbours!" Hijikata stared back at his infuriating neighbour/colleague- Sakata Gintoki in abject horror. Nobody knew about his weird addiction to Mayonnaise other than this piece of shit.

Kagura snapped out of the rain-induced trance to look at Gintoki curiously, "Mayora-kun?" Damn this kid wasn't letting the nickname slip.

Hijikata kinda liked that Gintoki's once fluffy hair was now sticking to his face, making him look like a wet dog- which wasn't far from reality. Gintoki whispered something in Kagura's ears and she turned to him with the same shit-eating grin as Gintoki. Hijikata wanted to facepalm himself, this information was going to spread like wildfire in the school.

"Oi Mayora! Don't you like the rain? What are you hiding for?" Kagura screamed from below. "Stop being such a boring adult!" 

Hijikata spat his cigarette and stomped back to his room but not before replying with, "Stop bothering your neighbours kid!" 

He glared at Gintoki in return who only offered him a helpless shrug. 

Maybe he was wrong to be concerned about the crazy duo soaking in the rain. Apparently it was an important ritual in order to become a cool adult. The phrase summoned the image of a silver haired guy with red eyes who was now enjoying the rain outside with his mini version. 

What was there to like about the goddamned rain anyway? Maybe he was destined to be the boring adult that he had grown into.

Toshiro didn't bother with the rest of his coffee for it had already gone cold.

  
  


* * *

"Aye Hijikata-san...I heard you do...mayonnaise?" Hijikata stopped in his tracks and spun on his heel to glare at one of his students who had a strange habit of taunting him whenever he got the chance. "People get into nasty habit of doing drugs yet here you are sniffing mayonnaise instead." 

Sougo approached him with his usual swagger that reminded him of someone else- someone equally annoying and infuriating.

"My personal life doesn't concern you Sougo." 

"Tch Hijikata-san it gets concerning when you start adding mayonnaise to your coffee...and your students agree too!" 

Yamazaki nodded sagely, "Toshi-san! I support you and it's okay to ask for help!" 

"Toshi-kun you need not worry we will do anything to help you!" He would never understand why this Kondo guy was so attached to him but so far it hadn't been troublesome...till today.

"Yo Hijikata-san! Imma always help out a fellow homie!" Hijikata didn't know if he should feel proud of their odd show of support or...cry because he didn't a fucking support group that consisted of his own students.

Hijikata sighed and straightened up, "I- I appreciate your support but it would not be required now please return to your cla-"

Sougo tsked dispassionately, "So cruel Hijikata-san…" 

Hijikata was trying to keep his cool because he wasn't supposed to attack the students but then some of them were really testing his patience and this support-epidemic was that bastard's fault-

"Stop blaming others for your weird interests Hijikata-san. Get help."

His temper needed an outlet before he took it out on his students so he did the next best thing he could do. He went to look for that bastard- Sakata Gintoki. This was all his fault, can't shut his fucking trap, always getting in his way- from highschool to becoming teachers to being his neighbour that stupid curly-haired bastard was everywhere.

He stomped away in a random direction intending to cool off away from the public when the fucker appeared right before him, whistling a random tune.

It was at that moment, he knew he was going to explode.

Hijikata quickly changed direction and hauled Gintoki away by his tie making him yelp like a dog.

  
  
  
  


He manhandled him near the men’s washroom hidden away from public eyesight.

“Hijikata-kun? You are getting rather bold…” The bastard then pretended to look around theatrically and grinned at him, “Say...Hijikata-kun...why have you dragged me here in an isolated hallway with a glare that conveys that you intend to eat me up alive...don’t tell me-” Gintoki mock gasped and clamped his own mouth, “W-what are your intentions huh?” Hijikata rolled his eyes and dropped the tie as if it scalded his hand.

Hijikata punched the wall next to Gintoki’s head, narrowly missing his empty head by an inch, “I will get back at you for this bastard!” 

“Hijikata-kun, will you please calm down we are at school, I don’t think you want the school authori-”

“I don’t care!” Gintoki flinched at the volume but his face went blank, “It must be you who spread the weird rumour-”

“It’s not a rumor when it’s the truth Hijikata-kun, the kind of truth I wish I didn’t have to witness with my own eyes and yet.” Gintoki shivered at the haunted memory of watching Hijikata eat rice with mayonnaise. And that had been when they were back in high school and to think that the memory of it haunted him to this day.

“Thanks for the confirmation-” Hijikata smiled eerily and Gintoki opened his mouth trying to deny his involvement with the mayonnaise rumour but Hijikata wasn’t even giving him a chance to defend himself. “I will make sure to get back at you and wipe that dumb smile of your stupid face, you curly-haired bastard!” Gintoki would have liked to retort about that specific comment on his curly hair but he took pity on the distressed guy and let it slide for once. The next time his hair was involved in an argument Gintoki was making him sit through a powerpoint presentation regarding the maintenance of curly hair and the daily struggles faced by people like himself.

Hijikata walked away stuffing his hands in the pocket of his suit.

Gintoki watched him go with a rare smile on his face, “Tch. You are too serious Hijikata-kun.”

Gintoki stuffed a candy in his mouth to get his sugar refill and rubbed his hair trying to tame it a little, that damn brat had gotten him in trouble again it seemed. But he mused that seeing Hijikata riled up like this was worth the trouble.

“Let’s see how creative you are Hijikata-kun.”

* * *

  
  


Hijikata knew he should cut back on the cigarettes but this incident had given him so much headache that he ended up smoking at least half the pack during the break and now he had forgotten to eat lunch. 

He had homeroom next and he dreaded seeing his student support group again especially after that incident before break time.

Hijikata wanted to skip on it but he valued his principles regarding his work above his personal problems and with a dejected sigh he made his way over to the classroom.

Usually he would question the missing student but he figured he would deal with Takasugi later. These bunch of idiots were enough apparently.

“Let’s begin with integration today.” He spoke in monotone shocking nearly everyone in the classroom. 

“Get some help Hijikata-san, you already have a weird addiction but now you are going around attacking your colleagues too?”

“Yes I will do that now please turn to the first exercise in the next chapter.” 

Even Sougo seemed dumbfounded at the lack of reaction from his homeroom teacher and Hijikata could hear a growing cacophony of murmurs the moment he turned to write on the board.

“Sacchan, I will deduct your grades if I hear you gossiping again.” Hijikata’s normal voice was like canon in the sudden silence that had descended amongst his students. The monotone was probably freaking his students out because they were much more used to his temper and his loud voice reprimanding them for their odd behaviour.

“We are only worried about you Toshi-san!” A voice answered and Hijikata knew that only Kondo could insert his genuine concern in between all the gossip about him but he wasn't really helping him at the moment and only feeding the wildfire that had spread throughout the school apparently. He was grateful for the concern though.

Hijikata capped his marker and turned to his students, “As much as I appreciate all your concern, I would be immensely pleased if you focused on your subject for this once and fared better in calculus. The last result was disappointing to say the least and only Shinpachi-kun here really ever bothers to study.” 

Shinpachi seemed giddy but tried to keep a straight face meanwhile the rest of them seemed dejected. “So please just focus more on your academics and less on the gossip regarding your teacher- those aren’t going to help you during the tests.” 

Hijikata sort of felt bad when the silence took a gloomy turn and all of them seemed down and dejected but he believed it had to be done...for the sake of their future...if they really wanted to get somewhere in life that is. No, he wasn’t getting back at them for their mayhem earlier, he really wanted them to do better in tests and graduate from this highschool when the time comes.

“Hijikata-san…” The annoying voice from the last bench drawled again, “I hope you choke on your mayonnaise.”

“Sure Sougo-kun, your concern has been noted, now let’s proceed with the class.”

Hijikata was sure he heard Sougo click his tongue when he turned to the board again. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Hijikata had been on his way to the office when he saw Sougo lounging on the grass field blowing out his bubble gum. He checked his watch and he was sure this was the time for club activities and everyone in this school was required to sign up for one club the very least.

He approached Sougo and nudged him with his foot. 

“Mayora-san.”

Well he was already used to the odd greetings from the brat so he got to the subject quickly, “Why are you here? What about your club?”

“Club? This is my resting hour, Hijikata-san.”

“Stop slacking off brat and get back to your club...wasn’t it kendo?”

Sougo turned his back to him with no intention of moving from that spot, “You’re disturbing my precious rest Hijikata-san, the only time where I can be assured I don’t have to deal with you.”

If anything it was Hijikata who had to deal with these troublesome kids daily and he couldn’t stop himself from looking out for this kid although it was beyond his comprehension as to how this kid was so closely related to Mitsuba but then she had a big role to play in how spoilt he had become so it was dumb question the weird siblings. 

“Ah Hijikata-san, please don’t move from your spot because you are doing a good job at blocking the sun for me.” 

Hijikata rolled his eyes fully aware that if Sougo didn’t want to talk then he wasn’t going to get any answer, especially not the ones he wanted. 

Shinpachi passed them too, carrying a bunch of textbooks in his hands...Shinpachi was the only diligent kid in Class 3-F and Hijikata recognized him well enough to tell that he wouldn’t slack off unnecessarily either unlike a lazy brat sleeping on the grass right now.

“Shinpachi-kun, why are you not attending your club right now? Has it been canceled…?”

Shinpachi rubbed his head sheepishly, “uh...Our seniors graduated recently and we have no advisor after Jiro-sensei so we haven’t had much to do and eventually the current club members got bored and began to do their own thing.

“Don’t you know Hijikata-san? People join this club so they can rest since nothing really happens there.”

Hijikata frowned in disbelief but then Shinpachi wouldn’t lie about these things and both of them had said the same thing more or less. 

Maybe there was something he could do to help these poor kids after all. 

And it definitely wasn’t connected to his apparent need to get back at Gintoki for gossiping about his mayonnaise addiction.

Even if it was, there was nobody who could prove it.

“You look creepy when you smile like that, Hijikata-san.”

Even Sougo couldn’t dampen his mood with his insults and taunts so he ignored it coolly and retreated to the staff room.

* * *

  
  
  


Shoyo gestured to Gintoki to take a seat and Gintoki slumped down on it instantly when he noticed a blank smile on his face which made him straighten up his posture, albeit reluctantly. Only Shoyo-sensei had the power to scare people with something as harmless as a smile and only Gintoki had been able to experience the real reason behind the chills down his spine whenever his sensei smiled like that.

“Gintoki.” And he quietly handed Gintoki a piece of paper which seemed like a schedule- oh god no, please no, not a new schedule, chances were something was definitely added in- without his consent.

Gintoki frowned at the sudden inclusion of club activities in the revised schedule. “Sensei...I don’t have any club activity in my schedule? Is this for someone else? Do I need to pass it to them-” Gintoki tried to flee from his seat but his sensei gestured to calm down and take his seat again.

“It’s your revised schedule.”

So it is the damned revised schedule. Dammit!

Gintoki did a double take, “Wait- are you serious? This is really mine?”

Shoyo-sensei nodded.

“W-which club is it?”

“The Kendo club? I remember that we haven’t found anyone to replace the advisor yet and there are no experienced seniors that can lead it on their own?”

“It’s impossible! The juniors are now replacing the newly graduated senior right? Aren’t they enough to lead the club?”

“While factually yes, the junior batch now replaces the senior batch but I have come across this complaint that they are found shirking their responsibilities and using it as a resting period.”

“And this concerns me because?” Being a full-time teacher and taking care of Kagura was enough to exhaust him, the last thing he wanted to do was to sit and play advisor to a bunch of kids who could care less about their training. That was the free time dedicated to reading Shonen jump not helping out struggling kids. It’s not like Kendo would be useful to these ignorant kids in this day and age.

“Because you are the newly appointed advisor Gintoki.”

Gintoki opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out for a long time, “How?” extremely eloquent question by Sakata Gintoki! Bravo!

“Gintoki, I think I’m pretty sure I was your sensei when you fled to practice Kendo for National-level championships instead of studying like the other students and all the times I had to drag you back to classes so you could maintain your grades enough to enter the said championships.” The eerie smile was still there on his face and it was an incredibly nostalgic reminder of the times when Shoyo-sensei hunted him down from his practices so he could focus on his academics too. The smile had remained unchanged all these years. 

Wait, was his sensei even aging? If so then which skincare routine was hiding all the supposed wrinkles? Ah Otose the school counselor and her rants about anti-aging creams were seriously influencing him if he was having these thoughts in the middle of a crisis. 

Sakata Gintoki didn’t regret a lot of things except procrastinating on buying the Weekly Shonen Jump on time before the stores ran out of the copies or not hiding his candies from Kagura’s eagle eyes but he did regret his life choices right now, like how he chose to work in the same school where his sensei works.

His inexperienced self was only taking cover from the onslaught of doubts and insecurities under the roof of his sensei’s familiarity, but now he was beginning to understand that it was slowly and steadily beginning to backfire. This person knew Gintoki way too well dammit!

“Hijikata-san had been kind enough to bring this issue to my attention! A really responsible teacher…” Shoyo-sensei nodded to himself as if he just decided on something.

“I hope you will not disappoint me Gintoki… and I personally believe that you can really guide these kids to become better.” The sunny smile had replaced the eerie smile and Gintoki really really wanted to facepalm at the moment. How was he even supposed to turn this down? 

Kagura! He had to take care of that kid and he couldn’t afford to take on any of the clubs-”

“Sensei, it’s really unfair that you didn’t even give me any time to consider this? I have to-”

“Ah Gintoki...if you are worried about Kagura-chan then-” Shoyo-sensei pulled another paper, this time an application form. “- She has just signed up for the boxing club so I don’t think your schedule should cause you any problem.”

Gintoki weeped internally for the trump card he thought he had, even the kid had bailed out on him at this point. Gintoki stood up while sighing out loud, “If this was all then I will get back to my work.”

“Sure.” Shoyo shot him another smile before he left the principal’s office.

* * *

  
  
  


Gintoki saw Hijikata making his way out of the class and the wave of annoyance came back with full force. This bastard really got back at him for that harmless piece of gossip about his mayonnaise addiction. Which hadn’t been his fault really but it was too messy to blame kagura so he took on Hijikata’s irritation and anger instead. And as it always went, this bastard was determined to pin the blame on him anyway.

He slammed his hand right beside Hijikata’s head taking satisfaction in disrupting his perfect composure. If his memory served him right, this bastard was anything but composed like he had become after becoming a teacher.

Hijikata’s blue eyes widened behind his glasses at the unexpected intrusion of his personal space. He blinked and his usual frown was back coupled with the irritation that always seemed to throw metaphorical daggers at Gintoki whenever their eyes met. He had such a piercing set of eyes really. 

“What the hell are you doing Gintoki?” The sentence had begun in low tones but transitioned into a quiet growl by the end. Hijikata ducked his head and adjusted his glasses but Gintoki squinted at how flushed his ears seemed to be. 

“What does it look like, Hijikata-kun?” Gintoki leaned in closer with a fake smile plastered on his smile making sure to emphasize the ‘kun’ to maximise the condescending effect. He knew which combinations of buttons he had to push to set him off and wreck his composure into shreds.

Hijikata took the bait and lunged at his collar to probably strangle him and Gintoki’s smirk got even wider. “Stop fucking with me bastard.” Hijikata hissed at him so that only two of them could hear the insults being traded between them.

“Huh? You want to fuck me?” Gintoki pressed a hand behind his ear and leaned closer like he was really not sure about what he had heard. Whatever it was it didn’t matter because Gintoki wasn’t the type to need context anyway. “My, my Hijikata-kun...this is not just a school but also our workplace...I’m shocked to hear such a bold suggestion coming from you Hijikata-san.”

“I’m not the type to kinkshame anyone Hijikata-kun but I’m afraid a lot of students are watching us right now but if you really insist on this fetish then maybe after school-”

Hijikata dropped his tie as if he was burned and squirmed against the wall in a reflex to back away from him. “Who would want to even fuck you!”

Gintoki tsked in apparent disappointment, “And here I thought you were finally opening up about yourself...even if it’s your kinks-”

“If you so much as even try to imply that I have weird kinks, I will kick you in the nuts!”

“Feisty!”

Hijikata raised his arm in an attempt to hit him but Gintoki caught it swiftly with his reflexes and used the leverage of his grip to pull Hijikata closer, “I wouldn’t mind it though.”

“What?”

“If you do have those secret kinks.” Gintoki winked at him and walked away while whistling a random tune and ignoring the groups of students that were peeking out of their classrooms to stare at them curiously and mumble amongst themselves at the possibilities.

Initially, Gintoki only wanted to corner Hijikata for reminding Shoyo-sensei about kendo but turns out that flush on Hijikata’s face had made him derail and go down a path he hadn’t been expecting to but he sure as heck wasn’t complaining about this development either, if anything it thrilled him to discover this and see what he could do with it.

So Hijikata Toushiro was capable of other emotions near Gintoki that weren’t anger and irritation. Perhaps Gintoki deserved his irritation for the way they had fallen apart during their high school years- messy and awkward. But if he was still angry then maybe not all hope was lost for him- maybe this bastard still cared…? Just maybe?

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Hijikata Toshiro had been having a good day till he was standing face to face with...Sakata Gintoki.

Cue the whispers and gossips 

_‘Are they going to...you know? Fight with each other again?_ ’

_‘Huh...fight? That was more like a scene from a romance novel...the cliche of slamming the other against a wall...fighting...is that what you kids are calling it these days?’_

_‘There is a kind of tension and I don’t know how to describe it!’_

_‘Are they really gonna do it again? Because I don’t think I’m ready but I’m ready with my camera.’_

Hijikata blushed and Gintoki smirked but mostly remained unphased. Hijikata pushed up his glasses to school his expression into a neutral one.

“Are you here to take up on the offer?” Gintoki leered at Hijikata who seemed to be getting increasingly uncomfortable with the hushed gossips and intense stares from their students.

Hijikata snarled with a flushed face and angry set of eyes, “In your dreams, bastard!”

“What if those are wet dreams?” Gintoki wriggled his eyebrows suggestively positively enjoying the new set of expressions that he was able to witness in such a short span of time. This was his first time witnessing them especially when Hijikata refused to make proper eye contact with him yet he was determined to stand here and argue with Gintoki. _Definitely Interesting._

“The students don’t need to hear your dirty fantasies-”

“Ah, it seems, you wouldn’t mind hearing about it then?” Hijikata stared at him with his mouth gaping open, apparently shocked at how relentless Gintoki was regarding this subject. 

Hijikata turned around and walked away without sparing him another reply or a glance. 

“Get back to classes everyone!” Hijikata yelled at some of the students on his way back, unable to tolerate their weird stares anymore.

“Oi Hijikata-kun, the offer is always open!” Gintoki yelled after his retreating figure as he delivered the final blow.

Gintoki then turned to the students who had now filed out into the hallways, trying to eavesdrop onto their conversation. “Get to classes, you brats! Or ten rounds of the field.” Attending his Physical Education classes had enlightened all the students that he wasn’t the type to give empty threats and definitely not the type to give easy punishments. Some even called him a _‘fucking sadist’_ behind his back. All in all, this reputation had helped him to tame them without even lifting a finger and now all he had to do was to threaten them appropriately and they would get moving.

Everyone hastily shuffled back to the classrooms and it was amusing to see that this small threat always worked for him and these unruly bunch of kids. Messing with Hijikata-kun was always so much fun, it put him in a good mood again. 

Or maybe not, he had to start his schedule of overseeing the Kendo club from today. Gintoki rubbed the back of his head, messing up his hair even more. He hated the extra work goddammit!

* * *

  
  
  


So only Shinpachi had bothered to show up for the club. Gintoki sighed and plopped down in a corner. He had already sent the memo and it wasn’t his responsibility if they were unwilling to show up. Gintoki weighed his options looking at Shinpachi who was dressed up for a practice session already.

Since nobody had shown up so far, maybe sleep was the better option.

Gintoki called out to Shinpachi, “Wake me up when the other students are here.”

“You can’t be serious!” 

“I don’t have to prove my seriousness to you.”

Shinpachi rolled his eyes, “Seeing you laze around the field wasn’t enough huh, now you are here too?” Sometimes, Gintoki was too lazy to bother with the students during P.E. so he let them do whatever they wanted, they were responsible for their future selves anyway.

Gintoki pretended to snore. 

“Who even made you the advisor?” Shinpachi was getting increasingly irritated with his attitude but Gintoki wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. What was he supposed to teach one kid anyway?

The snores got louder in volume.

Shinpachi thought that was the best time to wake him up with the bamboo sword when Gintoki caught it easily without turning around or opening his eyes. “I may be lazy but even I’m not this lousy at Kendo.”

“And please correct that lousy stance, it hurts my eyes-” Shinpachi opened his mouth to argue but Gintoki didn’t let him even speak, “And don’t interrupt your sensei when he is giving you pointers, ungrateful brats!” 

“And please swing your arm for maximising force, not the hand, you will only hurt yourself.” 

Gintoki leaned down to squint at the shocked student, “I thought this was basic?” Shoyo-sensei was right when he said that the current batch wasn’t capable of leading on their own. But he wasn’t right to involve Gintoki into this, it was really horrifying to discover that none of the students here were aware of the basics and he would have to begin from there, if ever. 

Damn he got carried away! Now the student was looking at him with starry-eyed appreciation, as if he was the sole savior of this drowning titanic mess of a club.

“Maybe you guys should return to enjoying this as a free period, why do you need to learn this anyway?”

“Didn’t expect the national-level champion to be such a prissy coward.” A voice taunted him from another corner but Gintoki could care less about his previous titles, it had been fun to get through championships but there he couldn’t cross the threshold of doing it for fun to making it a career and clinging to it as the sole life support. So in the end they were just that, mere titles achieved in the past.

“Who is the national-level champion?” Shinpachi questioned them while looking at both of them alternatively as Sougo emerged from the shadows.

“His name is up there in the School hall of fame, _Megane_. Judging by the shock on your face, I assume that nobody really bothers about it, not even our class president huh?”

“That was in the past, Sofa-kun.”

“I can tell.” He snorted in reply and tried to mock him indirectly.

Gintoki sat down on the bench again, “See meg- I mean Shinpachi-kun, Souichiro-kun is smart, he understands that all of that was a thing of the past, it doesn’t matter anymore and for that reason, please wake me up when the other students arrive. Gintoki was sure nobody was going to turn up... at least not for today. 

Shinpachi and Sougo exchanged glances before Shinpachi marched out of the clubroom.

Ah, now he was down to one student again, maybe he could use it as a free period too.

“You both deserve each other.” Sougo’s voice taunted him and he wanted to ignore it but it made him feel uneasy to not know the context of that statement.

“You exposed Hijikata-sensei for his mayonnaise addiction and he got back at you by making you do this...match made in heaven really!” Sougo accentuated the sarcasm in his words with a series of claps. 

“You are awfully invested in something that only concerns me or Hijikata-kun...why not find your own match?”

“So you aren’t even gonna deny this?” Sougo seemed incredulous at the underwhelming response. Gintoki finally acknowledged the poor guy by turning on his side and craning his neck backward. “Listen here Sofa-kun-”

“It’s Sougo.”

Gintoki ignored the correction and went on “- I would like it if you stopped bullying Kagura-chan in future. Just because I don’t want to interfere in this matter doesn’t mean I’m not aware of your tendencies.”

“Bully her…? She is the one-”

Gintoki resumed his sleeping position again, “You can’t clap with one hand, Sougo-kun.” 

“She can handle this fine but that doesn’t mean I won’t get involved if you cross your limits Sougo-kun. Those championship titles will definitely mean a lot when you will experience it for yourself.” Sougo knew that it was rare for Gintoki-sensei to use his real name or anyone’s real name for that matter and it was a serious matter if he was. Gintoki-sensei was serious about this; even if his voice had zero malice so far, it still sent chills down his spine.

  
  


Sougo left the _dojo_ without a word.

* * *

  
  
  


Hijikata went in class 3-F only to be greeted by a gloomy atmosphere.

“What’s up you guys, is it the test results?”

“Hijikata-sensei, why do you have to ask the obvious?” Only one person was daring enough to sass him and that was of course Sougo.

“I think...we will never make it Toshi-sensei!” Kondo appeared on the verge of tears and many other faces seemed like they were on the brink of an apocalypse. He sighed and he was sure this was going to consume a lot of his time but it was going to be worth it.

“I knew this was going to be the case.”

Several faces glared at him but he ignored them, “I took this test to be able to analyze your strengths and weaknesses so that I can help you all score a passing grade in the upcoming exams.”

“Don’t try to cover up your intentions sensei! That test was unnecessarily tough and even you know it and now look what you've done! The morale has crashed and is now below sea level..” Takasugi spoke from his spot at the last bench. Oh so he was finally here, Hijikata wanted to question his whereabouts but he had other time-consuming matters to focus on. 

Hijikata shoved his hand in his pockets, walking over to where Takasugi was seated. “Other than helping you all...what other intentions would I even have, Takasugi-kun. By the way glad to have you back.”

“Isn’t that what most teachers say but never mean?” 

Hijikata clenched his jaw, feeling spikes of temper rising up but it would be counterproductive if he spent his time on being angry at the kid and fighting with him pointlessly just to be able to prove his intentions. He knew what his intentions were and he didn’t have to spoon feed it to a kid that had taken an apparent disliking to him. It will be clear when the time comes.

But what really irked Hijikata was the fact that the kid had been glaring at him even when Hijikata ignored him and his jabs pointedly. There seemed to be some other unresolved problem for sure.

“So, I have listed out the strengths and weaknesses for everyone in this class...who took the test.” Hijikata rushed to complete the sentence before Takasugi interrupted him again. “For now, I would like everyone to focus on their weaknesses, go through the exercises in the deficient areas and ask me questions wherever you are stuck.”

Hijikata passed out the sheets to every student in the class. “You now have your list in your hands so please begin with the exercises recommended as per the list, I assure you that you can ask me any question but all these classes will be spent on working on your weak areas.”

He was surprised to see a newfound enthusiasm within his students, something that was incredibly rare in class 3-F. 

“Sensei...will you scold us for asking stupid questions?” Sacchan asked him hesitantly, fearing his short temper that he was mostly known for. He took a deep breath to brace himself for the questions that he knew were coming, he could predict half of them when he had graded the papers so he had a vague idea about it already.

“I know, I do get angry at times, but I promise you this time that I will help you to the best of my ability and I will try my best to not get angry as long as you are genuinely trying hard and get stuck somewhere.”

Kagura giggled from her bench and that reminded him, “I request you to not ask any question that doesn’t pertain to calculus, those questions shall not be entertained.” Kagura stopped giggling and fixed him a glare. 

Hijikata glanced at his watch, “So any more questions? Shall we begin?”  
  
Otae raised her hand and he gestured at her to go ahead, “Do we get homework?” 

Hijikata waved at her to sit down again, “Good question...thank you Otae for reminding me…” The classroom broke out in collective groans. “I will review your progress at the end of each class and give you the homework accordingly and I expect the homework to be submitted at the end of each class.”

Sougo finally got the chance to insert himself in the conversation, “Will you deduct our grades if we don’t?”

“I would usually say that but you guys are now immune to it I suppose.” 

Sougo smiled victoriously, “So you are saying that you don’t care if we submit the homework or not?”

“I won’t deduct the grades because this is for your own good.” Nobody was convinced and he found it amusing that they knew him too well, “However I will double the workload and not extend the time either, we only have limited time to work on this so I expect that you will have to put in extra efforts in case you are unable to submit the homework.”

Yamazaki raised his hand and Hijikata signalled him to ask without getting up, “And if we never submit the homework?”

Hijikata felt slightly dazed by the barrage of pointless questions but he answered it slowly, “Ah..there will always be students who would do that, I’m sure. Hijikata sweeped his eyes across the room. “In that case they will fail the exams, that’s all.” Hijikata shrugged nonchalantly at the end. Sougo and Takasugi had lost their relaxed composure and were glaring at him from their seats. But he knew they wouldn’t be able to retort this time. 

“No more questions?”

The class shook their heads.

“Sensei...do you still sniff mayo?” Hijikata’s fists clenched up automatically, a remainder from his delinquent days that had yet to leave him. But he knew this wasn’t the place for it so he ignored that comment. Gintoki was there to be his punching bag anyway..

Hijikata felt a little excited to try something new for his students and clapped his hands to signal a new beginning, “So, let’s begin.”

* * *

  
  
  


Gintoki opened an eye and was greeted by a hoard of enthusiastic students and he shut it again and turned away from them.

“I don’t wanna do this anymore.”

His statement was followed by murmurs and mumbles but no one dared to step in till-

“Then let’s get rid of this sensei then.” Was that voice Okita? It had to be, nobody could be that annoyingly plain yet deadly. Gintoki didn’t expect to be attacked by the fencing sword the very next second and wielded by an equally manic student. 

Gintoki rolled onto his side to dodge the hit but Okita probably saw it coming and changed up his movement at the last second and rolled down the bench onto the ground and held the sword between his hands. “That’s enough!” Okita withdrew the sword with a sombre expression. 

It was then Gintoki realized that the other students had witnessed the spectacle and were now looking at him with newfound admiration and now there was no way he could con them into thinking that he was an absolute noob at kendo. Gintoki rubbed the back of his nape nervously and decided to act before this got out of hand.

“Is everyone here?” There was a chorus of agreement.

“Now that you all are here, divide up into pairs and practice against each other.”

Everyone scrambled to get their partners except Okita and Shinpachi. 

“And what will you do?” Shinpachi questioned him with a weird smile on his face.

“I will sleep?” Neither of them were amused at his answer so that was out of option.

Gintoki raised his voice before speaking and it had everyone listening to his instructions at once. “If you all don’t get fencing within the next ten seconds! I will correct you if I find something off but remember you have to learn this entirely on your own. I’m only here to help.”

Gintoki sighed miserably because not just Shoyo-sensei even the students here were serious about this. “Sensei, please don’t slack off and do what you are paid to do.” 

“I’m paid to help you with Kendo not to put up with your bullshit.”

“Or..?” Okita tried to challenge him.

Gintoki’s face pulled up into a weirdly chilling smile, something that was nearly unknown and unidentifiable on his face but it felt like it suited him more than any other expression. Okita grimaced but then asked Shinpachi to pair up with him so they could get practicing. The kid was not afraid of his display earlier but he was smart if he knew which battles to pick. He had probably sensed that Gintoki was not the right opponent for his skill set at the moment hence retreated. This kid had potential...for sure, not that Gintoki would ever let him know until he had proved himself.

* * *

  
  
  


Hijikata rounded a corner and was greeted by a familiar smell, he coughed once to clear it up. 

So it was Takasugi huh. 

“Smoking is forbidden on school grounds Takasugi.”

Takasugi just blew out another ring of smoke and then got up with a sigh. He stomped on the cigarette wordlessly. “I would never understand what he sees in an uptight and annoyingly nagging man like you…” Hijikata was confused...who was he referring to and why was it connected to Hijikata himself.

“Do you have something to say Takasugi-kun?”

“An otaku with a mayonnaise addiction that likes to smoke sometimes…” Takasugi raked his eyes all over Hijikata, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Hijikata had the weird urge to cover up and hide away from those intense eyes. He had an odd feeling that Takasugi could read him like an open book.

“I thought that he would pay attention to me too if I started smoking.” 

“Smoking is bad for your health and you have a long life ahead of you.”

“Sensei...let’s not be so hypocritical-” a corner of Takasugi’s lips turned up mockingly, “I thought you did it too?”

Hijikata froze and he was only able to blink at his student, “I- That’s different.” He was caught off-guard really. He hadn’t expected Takasugi to call him out so suddenly when he wasn’t even present for most of his classes so far. Now that he thought of it, what made Takasugi return? It felt like his usual randomness but not really. Takasugi was not a student he could read easily but he could recognize the odd tension and weird hatred he saw in those eyes.

“I wanted to get noticed, not lectured so nevermind I guess. You both are more similar than I had realized so-” 

“Who are we talking about here?” Hijikata cut him off impatiently.

Takasugi snorted, “Sakata-sensei.” he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away leaving a dumbfounded Hijikata to ponder upon his words. The only thing he could be sure of was that this kid had a weird crush on that perm-head but the rest of it had been so cryptic...especially the part which involved himself. He was unable to compute the words or their meanings anymore. 

Sakata Gintoki saw what in him? Hijikata laughed a hollow laugh.. If Gintoki ever saw him as anything then- then he wouldn’t have run away from his feelings and pretended as if he hadn’t made out with him that night. But what could Hijikata even say, barring all dramatics...what was even there to say after all these years. He knew that it was a small incident but he could only wish that the impact was as small.

Hijikata slumped tiredly against the wall behind him, “Why did he have to harbour expectations from a bastard like him. Why did he have to fall for him? Why?” And now that son of a bitch had a new admirer...right he never fell short of those. But he pitied Takasugi for liking someone as hopeless as Sakata Gintoki. He really did. 

He had lost their games of push and pull, the moment he had acknowledged his feelings for Gintoki had none...right?

_That bastard…_

Hijikata recalled how he had been buzzing with newfound energy that night willing to do anything that was thrown at him during the game. And for reasons unknown to him he was dared to kiss Gintoki for one minute. Gintoki and him...well they weren’t friends but were always fighting each other in the hallways or during kendo. 

He had had a tough time twisting himself out of that situation and what’s more? Gintoki had been eyeing him weirdly the whole time, taunting him for chickening out of their dare and even when he had been drunk Hijikata could never forget the anger that had surged through him at once that he marched over to Gintoki, pushed him down on the couch and made out for god knows how long- definitely longer than one minute. 

And with the same amount of clarity he also remembered how he had been weirdly excited to see Gintoki till that bastard had pretended not to recall anything from the night before. Hijikata had felt hurt not because Gintoki wouldn’t acknowledge but he had to pretend to ignore it, like he hadn’t been involved in that too, like he was repulsed by it. And ever since then, Gintoki was always running away from him, not even acknowledging him or meeting his eyes.

Maybe it had been nothing in the grand scheme of things but it was then he had realized his feelings for that bastard which had worsened this entire mess further. What was he supposed to do with those feelings when the other person wasn’t even ready to accept them? He did move on from the incident but the bitterness still lingered.

Why did he have to be reminded of this again? Why _him_?

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Gintoki had been wrapping up after the club had finished up for the day when Hijikata came in wearing his usual suit and a wooden sword clasped in his hand.. 

“We are closing for the day.” 

Hijikata cornered him against the locker with his sword, “Are you gonna run away again, Sakata-san?”

“If I can run away once, I can run away twice. Same Difference. But you must remind me when was the last time I did.” 

“The last time?” Hijikata snorted but didn’t elaborate. 

“Pick up a sword, I’m in the mood for a match.” 

“I’m sorry to inform you Hijikata-kun but I wasn’t born to cater to your moods.”

“You are always like this, lazy and unwilling to fight…” Hijikata eased up his hold on Gintoki, not bothering to face him as he did. Gintoki frowned reflexively when he was unable to read the emotions directly off his beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t know how you made it this far.” Although Gintoki appreciated it when people weren’t being cryptic when they spoke to him.

Gintoki reluctantly picked up a sword, “Now, now I don’t like seeing your miserable mug so let me grant this wish of yours.”

None of them bothered with the protective gear and just took their positions. It was against the rules but then they had their own rules for fighting each other in Kendo. It had always been slightly different ever since the time they were in high school.

Gintoki and Hijikata stood watching each other for a tense moment when Hijikata moved to attack at his hand and Gintoki had been able to read the swing of his arm which enabled him to dodge out of the way and aim for Hijikata’s head. 

Hijikata ducked down and went for his torso instead and Gintoki was able to dodge it only at the last second. “Still have those reflexes huh?” Hijikata mocked him but Gintoki only smiled. 

“So you remember this Hijikata-kun...is it the nostalgia that brought you here?” 

Hijikata was thrown off-balance at the sudden smile and mention of nostalgia. He refused to acknowledge any of it however. “I have been wanting to fight you for a long time and it’s only today that I felt compelled enough to actually do it.”

“It must be a lot of anger indeed if you are willing to tolerate breathing the same air as me.” 

Gintoki recalled their arguments in the past and how it always ended with Hijikata shouting that and stomping away angrily. The short-temper was still the same but the way he dealt with it had changed. Earlier it was all about the verbal arguments but now Hijikata seemed like he was secretly scheming to kill him with how relentless he was in attacking Gintoki with the _Shinai._

“I will live.”

Simultaneously Hijikata wedged his foot in between him and Gintoki stumbled on it as he was recovering from the previous attack which made Hijikata fall right on top of him but Hijikata was holding the tip of the sword with the intent to slice through his face. 

Gintoki relaxed his stance and stared at him trying to see the origin of turbulence behind those eyes. Gintoki had to admit he couldn’t stop staring at the eyes that resembled the waves but threatened to burn him down like an uncontrollable fire. Hijikata was breathing deeply but not saying anything either. 

“Hijikata-kun...If you are going to keep sitting so close to my crotch with no intention of getting up then I might make assumptions that you won’t like.”

Gintoki expected Hijikata to blush wildly and scramble away from him but he only inched closer, “What assumptions? I would like to hear them.” Hijikata tilted his head in question, appearing so innocent that it was almost believable if he hadn’t pinned Gintoki down like this. 

Neither of them eased up on their staring for even a second and then Hijikata threw away the sword and got up from top of him, seemingly disappointed. 

“Always running away…” 

Hijikata stormed out of the _dojo_ without a single word, braving the rain without an umbrella. Gintoki tried to stop him or offer his own but Hijikata was either not listening to him or he had made it a point to not listen to him. Gintoki watched him go, till he wasn’t able to anymore and he was lost in thoughts about that day when he had seen Hijikata staring at him when Kagura had been coercing him to enjoy the ‘beauty of rain.’

Although he had meant to irritate Hijikata with his invitation somewhere, deep down he had wanted him to- wanted him to what? Gintoki punched the wall beside him when he wasn’t able to admit what he had wanted all along. Perhaps his incompetence to own up to his feelings had angered Hijikata too...if the way he had stormed off after their not-confrontation was any indication.

* * *

  
  


Gintoki had been preparing the dinner but now he needed Kagura to help out with some of the process sometimes, she was used to helping him out occasionally since she had been sent to live with him but now the frequency had increased because she was taking an interest in cooking recently.

“Gin-chan...what are you upto in school these days?”

Gintoki frowned but decided not to acknowledge the trap. There were times when this kid liked to question him for all the times he asked her about her day. But he knew that this was only the beginning of something and she was going to back him into a corner slowly but subtly.

“Thanks to Hijikata-kun and his kind-hearted concern, I have a club to manage now.” If Gintoki hit the ladle against the pan a little too hard then Kagura didn’t comment on it which made him sure of her intentions. “Kagura, chop the veggies a little faster will you?”

“And here I thought you are finally dating someone with all the gossip I heard.” 

“I’m not dating Hijikata-”

Gintoki paused and then turned to glare at the kid chopping her vegetables too calmly.

“It’s not my fault that you aren’t smart enough for this conversation.” Kagura shrugged without looking at him. “So spill.”

Gintoki should have predicted this conversation, “Spill what kid?”

“Why am I hearing weird rumours about you and Hijikata...wait-” Kagura dropped her knife and backed away in shock, clasping her mouth with her hand.

“Your outburst right now...I knew it! Those rumours are really true- you- he-” Gintoki almost fell for the oscar winning act but he nearly burned their chicken tonight. 

“You have been watching those daily soap again huh?” 

“Don’t change the topic.”

“There was no topic to begin with.”

Kagura was glaring at him again with her hand on her hips and then she threw the knife aside and went for the door. “Maybe Hijikata-sensei will answer me.” Gintoki ran to her retreating form at once because he couldn’t ensure what new shit that bastard will come up with just to fuck with him and with Kagura’s tendency to gossip the combination will be like fire meets gasoline and soon enough there will be new gossip around the town and he was sure he wouldn’t like that one.

“Fine..fine...you win...just don’t disturb him at this hour.” 

He was greeted with Kagura’s cheshire grin in return and he sighed in defeat. 

“You should tell me before Gin-chan! I would never even dream of disturbing your boyfriend.” Kagura poked him in the arm teasingly as she went. She was even giggling weirdly and he was contemplating if there was any point in redeeming himself when she was already sold on the weird gossips about him and Hijikata to the point that they were already dating in her head. 

“He is not my boyfriend!” 

“I’m disappointed in you Gin-chan because why not???”

Gintoki opened his mouth to argue but Kagura shut him up, “I know he is your type.”

“And you know this because?” Gintoki asked with his eyebrows raised.

“Your ex shared quite a lot of similarities with him...wouldn’t you agree?” Gintoki would like to question the depth and her source of knowledge regarding these things but then girls’ always matured quicker in any case and she has been living with him for a quite a while now. Her parents lived abroad and couldn't settle down in one place due to the nature of their work so she was sent to live here on the account of her brother's threa- request. It had been a request. It's just that her brother was scary sometimes...that's all.

“Tsukuyo wasn’t-” Gintoki cut himself off because Kagura did have a point. 

Gintoki’s form deflated as soon as he ran out of excuses to make, “He doesn’t like me like that…” 

“And you know this because?” Kagura was learning from him and learning too fast if she was going to throw his own words back at him with zero considerations or mercy

“I kissed him once...during truth and dare...and then we never dared to bring it up again.”

“Gin-chan...I really want to call you an idiot!”

“Then why don’t you? Since you have come so far.” 

“I have been taught to respect my elders.” Kagura replied haughtily and he didn’t know if he should feel proud or if he should cry because she was learning his ways but looking down at him at the same time.

“It is only now that you remember respect huh?” Gintoki tapped the back of her head gently but in a reprimanding fashion. 

“Both of you need a new pair of eyeglasses since you can’t see something so obvious!”

“What is so obvious?!” 

“That you can’t stay away from each other!” 

Gintoki froze in his place. He spun on his heels to glare at Kagura. This wasn’t true. They repelled each other, wanted to be away- he was hit with the images of all the times he had cornered Hijikata recently and the one time Hijikata had cornered him. Gintoki swallowed nervously and leaned against the wall beside him. 

_“Always running away…”_

Gintoki hit his head against the wall because Hijikata had turned away from him, blinking rapidly and then stormed out into the rain and even then he had felt as if there was something missing...something that was left unsaid between them that day.

But then if that was the case, then a lot of things had been left unsaid all these years that they had known each other. Could it be that Hijikata had miraculously remembered making out with him and had been waiting for him to broach the subject...He ran a hand through his already messy hair but making no difference whatsoever because it was already curly and messy.

“Gin-chan we know you are slow with these things! But can we please hurry with the dinner? I’m starving and I even helped you to make it faster!” Kagura called him from the kitchen. He had to stop walking down the memory lane at once and return home to the kid that was never not starving.

“You wouldn’t bother helping poor Gin-chan if not for your hunger!”

The dinner was spent with Kagura rambling about her day as usual but his state of mind was far from the usual; a land of chaos rather. 

Even though he had found Hijikata to be weird in the _dojo_ that day, he had forgotten all about it till Kagura had burst in with her opinions that had submerged his entire thought process into the sea of uncertainties and what-ifs; a never ending cycle of thoughts about what could have been - all the positive and the negative scenarios included. 

Gintoki hadn’t progressed with his food at all meanwhile Kagura was already putting away the dishes. “Aren’t you hungry Gin-chan?” She frowned at his apparent disinterest in the food but she also seemed worried. 

“I will clean this up later, don’t worry.”

Kagura rolled her eyes at him, “That’s not what I asked.”

“It’s nothing much, just…” 

Gintoki took a proper look at her concerned face, the way she was watching him like a hawk and he poked her forehead in a way of physically making her retreat from this. “Gin-chan is an adult now and he will take care of it by himself, you worry about your homework first.” Kagura pouted at him while rubbing her forehead. 

Kagura grimaced mumbling something about Gin-chan being a difficult adult but he only smiled at her antics. It was her way of showing concern- as odd as it tended to be at times.

He sighed when she finally returned to her room.

Hijikata Toushiro. Turns out that a man of this name still haunted him but now for different set of reasons from before, and some of them were tinged with a kind of bright hope he had not dared to harbour. Gintoki laughed at himself because it was kind of pathetic to realize your actual feelings for that one person he had dared not hope for after all these years of nothing but static between them.

Maybe Kagura had been right, they had never really strayed far from each other. The tension they experienced whenever they circled each other was actually attraction disguised as repulsion and perhaps he was the only one who didn’t want to look beneath the surface and realize the actual depth of it- he had always been on a run - maybe from himself, or from the circumstances...who knows?

It was true that he had always been running away. No wonder Hijikata looked at him with murder in his eyes. He was angry at Gintoki for leaving him behind. For not turning back and acknowledging his feelings.

Gintoki slumped against the uncomfortable chair after finishing his food, feeling more miserable than ever. 

* * *

  
  
  


Hijikata paced the examination hall anxiously wondering about his students in class 3-F. He had been supervising class 3-B at the moment but his mind was a bit preoccupied. No, the perm-head was not involved anywhere in this, he had nothing to do with this. 

He pushed his hand deeper into the pocket, craving a cigarette to ease his nerves. He stared outside the window watching the rain and sighing deeply when he found it to be comforting rather than annoying. Today it hadn’t stopped raining since the exams had begun it seemed.

* * *

  
  
  


“Stance!” 

Gintoki yelled at the pair duelling in the centre. 

The stance did improve but then agility got shot down the very instant. “Agility! Don’t compromise on your agility! Practice with a better stance or there is no use of agility!” 

The bell signalled the end of the club activities and he raised a hand to signal them to stop. 

“That’s it for today.” 

Gintoki left the main area to stand by the main door of the _dojo._ Even the rain was reminding him of Hijikata right now. He didn’t know why he was recalling that time where he had been having fun at Hijikata’s expense while watching him from the rain, wishing for him to do the same. 

Was that really- 

Gintoki didn’t bother changing out of his hakama and walked out of the _dojo_ leaving the students to clean up and wind up after they were done using the club area. He knew he was getting drenched but his feet were automatically taking him to where Hijikata was enjoying himself in the rain.

When he got there, he was greeted with the stunning sight of Hijikata in his partially drenched suit watching the rain with a naked fascination that Gintoki had never witnessed before, something that was so bright and so, so, so beautiful that it robbed him of air and made him breathless. Gintoki even rubbed his eyes not once, not twice, but thrice to confirm that he was really, actually witnessing this with his own eyes. 

Hijikata smiled at him softly, “I never understood your fascination with this annoying weather but then today I feel all of my doubts and inhibitions washing away with this rain that I don’t want to leave even if I’m on the verge of hypothermia, is this what makes you all so giddy?” 

Hijikata was known to be conventionally attractive but a drenched Hijikata appreciating the beauty of rain with this soft smile on his face was somebody out of this world and a Hijikata that the world didn’t deserve to see.

“Oi oi Mayora-kun, don’t get hypothermia for the aesthetic.”

“Aren’t you doing the same?” Gintoki’s heart was racing with increasing speeds the longer Hijikata kept up that smile on his face. And he was washed by the memories of a drunk night that was spent kissing Hijikata.

“Hijikata-kun...why not let me help you alleviate your chances of hypothermia?”

Hijikata turned to him with a pensive look on his face and watched him for a moment.

Gintoki took his hand and dragged him back to the main building and shoved them into an empty classroom before kissing the life out of him. Hijikata growled and pulled him closer giving him the access to deepen their kiss with zero hesitation whatsoever. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment and now that he had it he was going to cling to it with his entire being and that was what he was doing to Gintoki too. Clinging to him so tight that there was barely any space between their bodies.

Hijikata’s cold hands were wandering everywhere making him hiss and shiver into the kiss and groan when his hand finally slipped under the collar of his hakama and Gintoki put his own hand over his to warm them up. 

When they separated from each other, there was a trail of saliva connecting them but Hijikata’s face had warmed up considerably which was indicated by the flush that was settled all over his face and neck; a Hijikata so wanton and needy that he blood pulsed faster in his veins at the rare sight, his body reacting to what he was seeing in that moment. 

Hijikata felt his excitement too when he smirked at Gintoki leisurely, “So this is really your kink huh and it has been all along...am I right?” 

“It takes one to know one.”

Hijikata touched his erection casually, rubbing his dick through the wet material of his clothes. 

And his other hand slowly slid the hakama off his shoulder from where it had been resting on his chest. “Not fair Hijikata-kun...your suits are harder to deal with and here you have already begun stripping me.”

Hijikata raised his eyebrows, “Who said you are getting it off me?”

“We are not?” Gintoki was feeling the euphoria wash over him and make him go lax as Hijikata took care of him with his expert hands but he didn’t want to stop talking even when he was on the verge of losing his mind.

“Not till we get home. Because I want this wet thing off completely and there is no way in hell I’m doing anything of that sort here.” Gintoki wanted to jump in joy but also melt before Hijikata’s shoes and there was nothing he could do except bite his lips to stop himself from making any noise. Kinks aside, he really didn’t want to be discovered like this.

“But you- your kink?” Hijikata was holding his reins at the moment and he squeezed hard in response making him yelp out a moan before he clamped his mouth shut with his lips.

Hijikata fended off his hand when he tried to return the favour but continued devouring him with his lips. This man was amazing in ways he had failed to anticipate.

The pace of stroking increased gradually bringing him closer to the edge and Hijikata applied just the right amount of pressure he needed to get off and so he did. Damn now he had to wash the stains off before throwing it into the washing machine but he didn’t care, he couldn’t when he had someone as beautiful as Hijikata staring at him quietly while catching his breath.

“How about we continue this at home?” Gintoki whispered in Hijikata’s ears and he blushed a little but he coughed a few times to return to normal. 

“And what do I do with you if you run away again?” 

Gintoki leaned down to whisper again, “You have the permission to tie me up this time.” Hijikata pushed him away reflexively and ran away at once probably to fetch his bag.

“Look who is running away now.” 

Gintoki shook his head and ran after him not wanting to let go off him now that he had found him again.

* * *

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I sincerely thank everyone who made it so far and has completed this fic. I'm not a regular in this fandom but being able to create this gave me a lot of joy. I hope you enjoyed and if you did then Kudos/comments are always welcomed! Also say hi to me [ @softtoki ](https://twitter.com/softtoki)


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